Connie Tsai: Week 5

IKEA has become a homegoods powerhouse because of its existence as a low-cost company. Instruction manuals are completely done in images with no words---because there are no translations necessary, all furniture can be distributed anywhere without the need for sorting by language. IKEA furniture is well-known for being inexpensive and utilitarian, with the DIY hack capabilities for the more creative- and handy-minded. The Kallax shelving unit, for example, is a mainstay on DIY blogs across the Internet due to its practicality and ease of alteration. The company itself largely supports these hacks, thus showing that their furniture are able to be tailored to the specific tastes of the consumer, which appeals to those who enjoy the aesthetic of individuality. IKEA partners with Scandinavian artists and designers in order to produce more aesthetically pleasing homegoods, which thus makes them more appealing design-wise as well. As such, IKEA has begun to grow internationally because of these two factors: aesthetics, and cost.

Hansen says that one of the two reasons Danish modern furniture became so popular is that “the development of a social network of individuals and organizations promoted and legitimized these narratives” (451). I think this portion of the Hansen reading is most applicable to the marketing of our startup because it relies so much on outside factors—specifically, the people we can bring in to participate in the app’s community—to be successful. It will be impossible for our startup to become successful unless we have people who give it credence. Firstly, by bringing therapists and holistic health centers into our network, we will be able to say that these people and organizations support our app. Secondly, it is important to target the user-end narrative. The narrative capabilities for an app which helps people practice mindfulness—both in mental and physical health—need to be explored, but as it stands I believe our ability to guide it in a positive direction will be extremely helpful. What I mean by a "positive narrative" is one in which a user, through our app, is able to tell their friends and family that they have been able to practice healthy habits which has improved their mental and physical health. This thus gives our app the image of a healthy, helpful impact on someone's daily life. Therefore, in order to ensure that our app grows domestically and internationally, we need to rely on these networks as well as a positive narrative to ensure that our app is able to positively impact those who need its help.

---

Question

What obstacles become apparent when accounting for international growth?

---

Sources

1. Hansen, Per H. "Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930-1970." The Business History Review vol. 80, no. 3, 2006, p. 449-483. Accessed 13 May 2015.
2. https://www.brit.co/ikea-shelf-hacks/